Bates Motel Reviews

This show far exceeded my expectations. It didn't go the slavish remake/homage route, nor the adaptation route but combined both elements to create something wholly its own and, simultaneously, warmly familiar.

I'll admit i was a bit puzzled by the beginning structure but it all served a purpose. The first two seasons give us an insight into the world and mind or Norman and his mother that sets up an excellent psychological basis for the madness that comes. This results in a payoff that is well earned rather than cheaply copied.

Vera Farmiga as Norman's mother is absolutely wonderful. I'm glad they handled her with care and nuance. Instead of a cartoon character of smotherlove, we get a strong-willed, caring, and loving mother who's heavy handed approach is soundly based on her own experiences. She is flawed, despite this love. At times temperamental, manipulative, and overbearing but it's all done with a heart for her son. This enables us to view not only Norman at his darkest in a sympathetic light but also the looming specter of his mother.

In the end, the show was less a crime thriller like its source material but a tragic family drama. A spellbinding disaster waiting to happen

Bates Motel takes place many years before the events of 1960's Psycho, exploring the early teenage years of Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore), who lives with his mother Norma (Vera Farmiga) before ultimately sliding into madness. The first episode of the show picks up as Norman loses his father, moving to another town where his mother has purchased an old house and a motel. It observes Norman and his mother as they settle into their new lifestyle.

It should be noted that this isn't the first attempt at Bates Motel. A show was pitched in 1987 with the same title, but got no further than the pilot. But now the show has gotten off the ground at last, for better or for worse. As one can imagine considering the source material, Bates Motel is not light-hearted television for easy consumption. Psycho deals with murder and transvestism, after all, hence we have to expect the same type of content here. Added to this, there's a disconcerting theme running throughout the show that Norman shares an almost romantic relationship with his mother. After all, we know that Norman and his mother become jealous whenever any of them are interested in a member of the opposite sex, thus the pair seem to interact like a couple at times. In the pilot, we also get a brutal rape and murder to keep us from getting too comfortable. Bates Motel is going to be a fucked up show for the mature crowd weaned on Dexter and The Walking Dead, make no mistake.

The problem with Bates Motel is its contemporary setting. Executive producer Carlton Cuse (Lost) has described the show as a “contemporary prequel” to Psycho, meaning they want us to believe that these events will lead to the Norman we all know from Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece, but the setting is modernised in order to appeal to a wider demographic. But the problem is that the show borrows era-specific elements from Hitchcock's film as well, incorporating them into this modern setting with little regard for logic. For instance, Norman still dresses like a teenager from the '40s or '50s, and the teachers are dressed like conservative school marms. Plus, murders are a primary element of this show, but police investigation and forensics have improved a hundredfold over the last fifty years, hence it looks unrealistic and ridiculous for Norma and Norman to get away with murder in this day and age. The result feels slightly awkward, as if the show is in fact a reboot of Psycho but the creators are just too scared to embrace that label in fear of the implications (we all saw what happened with Gus Van Sant's Psycho remake). Some viewers may be able to overlook this aspect, but it's a niggling flaw. It would have been far more interesting if the show was actually set in the '40s or '50s.

Beyond the confused sense of time and place, there are a number of other questionable elements which harm Bates Motel. Bafflingly, Norman is instantly adopted by the cool crowd, developing into a total chick magnet with no effort at all. On top of the group of hot girls who surround him (and stalk him, coming to his house in the evening at one stage), even his teacher seems to take a shining to him. It makes no sense and feels entirely unmotivated. The dialogue is often amateurish as well, with characters constantly calling Norman by his full name for no apparent reason other than name recognition for our sake.

Bates Motel's biggest assets are Highmore and Farmiga, who are excellent in the roles of Norman and Norma. Highmore has grown up since the days of Finding Neverland and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and he's now a fine young adult actor. Playing Norman as shy, tongue-tied and humble, his performance actually evokes memories of the late Anthony Perkins. Equally good, if not more impressive, is Farmiga, a terrific screen actress who affords the show a bit more class and gravitas. Vera gives Norma multiple layers; she's a loving and even sexy mother, yet she's also brutally manipulative, using twisted logic to convince Norman to be obedient.

The first episode of Bates Motel definitely shows promise in its set-up of what's to come. It hones in on a critical moment in Norman's life, and he already begins his journey down the inevitable path in the premiere. The writing, directing and production values are strong for the most part, and the show definitely carries a cinematic gloss. It just remains to be seen where the show leads. If it ends up running for a few seasons, the creators may end up remaking Psycho in an episode, and no fan wants that. By the same token, if it suddenly gets cancelled before Norma's infamous lover is introduced and the writers only get the chance to create one more episode, he may be awkwardly shoehorned in. At this point in time, though, Bates Motel has potential. It's skilfully assembled for the most part and suitably shocking when it needs to be.

6.5/10